ML24115A193

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Motion for Extension of Time to File New Contention Based on GAO-24-106326 Submitted by Miami Waterkeeper
ML24115A193
Person / Time
Site: Turkey Point  NextEra Energy icon.png
Issue date: 04/24/2024
From: Bills C
Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper, Miami Waterkeeper
To:
Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
SECY RAS
References
ASLBP 24-981-01-SLR-BD01, RAS 56996, 50-250-SLR-2, 50-251-SLR-2
Download: ML24115A193 (0)


Text

1 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of:

FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT COMPANY (Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Units 3 and 4)

(Subsequent License Renewal Application)

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Docket No. 50-250-SLR-2 Docket No. 50-251-SLR-2 April 24, 2024 MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE NEW CONTENTION BASED ON GAO-24-106326 SUBMITTED BY MIAMI WATERKEEPER Petitioner, Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper, Inc. d/b/a Miami Waterkeeper, hereby files this Motion to allow Petitioner a 6-day extension of time to file any new contentions based on the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report GAO-24-106326, per 10 C.F.R. § 2.307.

The extension would allow Petitioner to align the deadline for new or amended contentions based on the GAO report with the deadline for new or amended contentions based on the Final SEIS provided in the Boards Initial Scheduling Order. In support, the Petitioner states as follows:

1.

Pursuant to the Atomic Safety and Licensing Boards March 26, 2024 Initial Scheduling Order, Petitioner must file any new or amended contentions based on the Final Site-Specific Environmental Impact Statement (2024 FSEIS) within 40 days of the March 29, 2024 publication of the FSEIS. Petitioner plans to file new and amended contentions based on the 2024 FSEISthe deadline for which would fall on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Additionally, the Boards December 6, 2023 Initial Prehearing Order provided that a motion seeking the admission

2 of new or amended contentions is due within 30 days of the date upon which the information that is the basis of the motion becomes available. Petitioner plans to file a new contention based on a GAO report issued on April 2, 20241the deadline for which would fall on May 2, 2024.

2.

Miami Waterkeeper seeks a 6-day extension of time to file any new contentions based on GAO report GAO-24-106326. This would enable Petitioner to file its GAO report-based contention along with its 2024 FSEIS-based contentions in a single filing dated May 8, 2024, rather than filing two separate motions within a 6-day period. We believe that this will simplify the briefing process for all parties and streamline the Boards review of our contentions.

5.

In accordance with 10 C.F.R. § 2.323, and the Atomic Safety and Licensing Boards December 6, 2023 Memorandum and Order, undersigned counsel for Petitioner certifies that she has consulted with Counsel for NRC Staff and FPL. NRC Staff stated that it does not oppose a 6-day extension of the GAO report-based contention. FPL stated that it opposes the motion.

MEMORANDUM OF LAW NRC regulations allow extensions of adjudicatory deadlines upon demonstration of good cause.2 An Atomic Safety and Licensing Board has the power to [r]egulate the course of the hearing and the conduct of participants and [s]et reasonable schedules for the conduct of the proceeding.3 The Board has discretion in setting a schedule.4 1 U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-106326, Nuclear Power Plants: NRC Should Take Actions to Fully Consider the Potential Effects of Climate Change (Apr. 2024), available at https://www.gao.gov/assets/d24106326.pdf.

2 10 C.F.R. § 2.307(a).

3 10 C.F.R. §§ 2.319, 2.321(c).

4 In the Matter of Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. (Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 and 2), 48 N.R.C. 45 (1998) (Although we expect the Board to adhere to our scheduling guidance to

3 Nonbinding NRC guidance recommends that extensions should be granted upon a showing of unavoidable and extreme circumstances.5 A previous Board found that it is clear from the immediate context of the Policy Statement announcing the standard as well as the referral order in this proceeding that the standard is not an absolute one, but rather one that depends upon the totality of the facts and circumstances of each case.6 The Commission has not rigidly applied this standardas recently as 2012, the Commission found that the unavoidable and extreme circumstances standard applies to the 10-day deadline for filing appeals, while the good cause is the standard for assessing other filing delays.7 The NRC guidance recommending the unavoidable and extreme circumstances standard seeks to provide a fair hearing process, to avoid unnecessary delays in the NRC's review and hearing processes, and to produce an informed adjudicatory record that supports the maximum extent possible, we recognize that particular circumstances may justify deviations from our guidance, and we therefore have refrained from mandating a schedule.); In the Matter of Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. (Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 and 2) 48 N.R.C.

39, 42 (1998) (We also provide the Licensing Board with guidance... and a suggested schedule with the goal of issuing a decision... in about 2 1/2 years.) (emphases added).

5 Statement of Policy on Conduct of Adjudicatory Proceedings, CLI-98-12, 48 N.R.C. 18, 21 (1998). Some previous referral orders from the Commission to the Board have specified that

[t]o avoid unnecessary delays, the presiding officer should not grant requests for extensions of time absent unavoidable and extreme circumstances. See, e.g., In the Matter of Duke Cogema Stone & Webster (Savannah River Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility) CLI-01-13, 2001 WL 760021 (July 3, 2001). The referral memorandum in this case does not include such language.

See Memorandum from NRC Secretary Carrie M. Safford to Chief Administrative Judge E. Roy Hawkens (Nov. 28, 2023).

6 In the Matter of Duke Cogema Stone & Webster (Savannah River Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility), 2001 WL 760021 (July 3, 2001).

7 In the Matter of Detroit Edison Co. (Fermi Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 3), 75 N.R.C. 742, 748 n.18 (2012) (In this case, we are not required to find unavoidable and extreme circumstances, but only good cause for the 15-day delay in filing the Motion to Amend.). The Secretary has previously applied the good cause standard in this case. See Order (Nov. 6, 2023).

4 agency decision making on matters related to the NRCs responsibilities for protecting public health and safety, the common defense and security, and the environment.8 The Commission has previously emphasized that [i]n issuing and implementing a schedule, we do not expect the presiding officer to sacrifice fairness and sound decisionmaking. Furthermore, we recognize that any schedule will be subject to revision depending upon the number and complexity of the contentions admitted.9 In this case, Miami Waterkeeper has established good cause for an extension of time. The consolidated briefing that Petitioner proposes will promote judicial and party efficiency by reducing by half the number of briefs required.

WHEREFORE, Petitioner requests that the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board allow Petitioner a 6-day extension of time to reply to the answers filed in this matter, to Wednesday, May 8, 2024.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Cameron Bills Cameron Bills Miami Waterkeeper PO Box 141596 Coral Gables, FL 33114-1596 Phone: (305) 905-0856 Email: cameron@miamiwaterkeeper.org Counsel for Miami Waterkeeper 8 Statement of Policy on Conduct of Adjudicatory Proceedings, CLI-98-12, 48 N.R.C. 18, 19 (1998).

9 In the Matter of Duke, Cogema, and Stone & Webster (Savannah River Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility), 53 N.R.C. 478, 484 (2001).

5 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of:

FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT COMPANY (Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Units 3 and 4)

(Subsequent License Renewal Application)

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)

)

)

)

)

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Docket No. 50-250-SLR-2 Docket No. 50-251-SLR-2 April 24, 2024 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE Pursuant to 10 C.F.R. § 2.305, I certify that, on this date, a copy of the foregoing Motion for Extension of Time to File New Contention Based on GAO-24-106326 Submitted by Miami Waterkeeper was served upon the Electronic Information Exchange (EIE, the NRCs E-Filing System), in the above-captioned docket, which to the best of my knowledge resulted in transmittal of same to those on the EIE Service List for the captioned proceeding.

/Signed (electronically) by/ Cameron Bills Cameron Bills Miami Waterkeeper PO Box 141596 Coral Gables, FL 33114-1596 Phone: (305) 905-0856 Email: cameron@miamiwaterkeeper.org Counsel for Miami Waterkeeper